CN113328841B

CN113328841B - Method and apparatus for allocating acknowledgement resources

Info

Publication number: CN113328841B
Application number: CN202110618704.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: T·E·伦蒂拉; E·T·蒂罗拉; K·J·霍里
Original assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2016-01-07
Filing date: 2017-01-03
Publication date: 2024-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 2037-01-03
Also published as: CN108702279A; CN113328842A; SG11201805839YA; PL3400670T3; EP4002746A1; WO2017118627A1; US20190036653A1; EP3400670B1; PH12018501457A1; CN108702279B; MY197255A; ES2906767T3; US20200382245A1; US11646827B2; US20230275701A1; US10805049B2; CN113328841A; EP3400670A1

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for allocating acknowledgement resources. A method includes receiving, at a user equipment, initial acknowledgement resource information from a base station. The initial acknowledgement resource information is associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources. The method includes determining which of the subset of acknowledgement resources is to be used based on the initial acknowledgement resource information. The user equipment transmits an acknowledgement on the determined resource.

Description

Method and apparatus for allocating acknowledgement resources

The application is a divisional application of the same patent application with the application date of 2017, 1 month and 3, the priority date of 2016, 1 month and 7 and the application number of 201780013093.3.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus and in particular, but not exclusively, to a method and apparatus in which acknowledgement resources to be used are determined.

Background

A communication system may be considered as a facility capable of enabling communication between two or more devices, such as user terminals, machine type terminals, base stations and/or other nodes, by providing a carrier between the communication devices. For example, the communication system may be provided by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication may include, for example, communication of data for carrying communication such as voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia and/or content data, and the like. Non-limiting examples of services provided include bi-or multi-directional calls, data communications or multimedia services, and access to data network systems such as the internet.

In a wireless system, at least a portion of the communication between at least two stations occurs over a wireless interface. Examples of wireless systems include Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), satellite-based communication systems, and different wireless local networks, such as Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Local area wireless networking technologies that allow devices to connect to a data network are known under the trade name Wi-Fi (or Wi-Fi). Wi-Fi is often used synonymously with WLAN.

A wireless system may be divided into cells and is therefore commonly referred to as a cellular system. The user may access the communication system by means of a suitable communication device or terminal. The communication device of a user is often referred to as User Equipment (UE). The communication device is provided with suitable signal receiving and transmitting means for enabling communication, e.g. access to a communication network or communication directly with other users. A communication device may access a carrier provided by a station (e.g., a base station of a cell) and transmit and/or receive communications on the carrier.

Communication systems and associated devices typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. Communication protocols and/or parameters which should be used for this connection are also typically defined. Examples of standardized radio access technologies include GSM (global system for mobile), EDGE (enhanced data for GSM Evolution) Radio Access Network (GERAN), universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). An example of a standardized communication system architecture is Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. LTE is being standardized by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). LTE employs evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) access. Further developments in LTE are sometimes referred to as LTE-advanced (LTE-a). The various stages of development of the 3GPP specifications are referred to as releases (releases). In this specification, 3GPP releases are distinguished by the acronym "Rel-nn".

The Rel-13 LTE LAA (licensed assisted access) specification is intended to provide definition for licensed assisted access to the unlicensed radio spectrum. The access is intended to coexist with other technologies and meet regulatory requirements. In Rel-13 LAA, unlicensed spectrum is utilized to improve LTE Downlink (DL) throughput.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect, there is provided a method comprising: receiving, at a user equipment, initial acknowledgement resource information from a base station, the initial acknowledgement resource information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources; determining which of said subset of acknowledgement resources is to be used based on said initial acknowledgement resource information; and causing the user equipment to transmit an acknowledgement on said determined resource.

The method may include receiving initial acknowledgement resource information from a base station at a user equipment during one of an initial access phase and a handover procedure.

The method may include subsequently receiving dedicated acknowledgement resource information and causing the user equipment to transmit an acknowledgement in a resource associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information.

The initial acknowledgement resource information may include common acknowledgement resource information associated with the cell.

The acknowledgement resource information may include temporary acknowledgement resource information.

The method may include receiving at least one of: system information, at least one random access message, at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and a handover command from the base station, the at least one of the system information, the at least one random access message, the at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and the handover command being used to provide at least one of information regarding the subset of acknowledgement resource information and the initial acknowledgement resource information.

The acknowledgement resource information may provide information about a physical uplink control channel to be used by the user equipment for acknowledgement information.

The acknowledgement information may include a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement.

The acknowledgement resource information may comprise an acknowledgement resource indicator.

The subset of acknowledgement resources may include at least one resource index in the orthogonal resource space.

The method may be performed in an apparatus. The apparatus may be in a user equipment.

According to one aspect, there is provided an apparatus in a communication device, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor: receiving initial acknowledgement resource information from a base station, the initial acknowledgement resource information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources; determining which of said subset of acknowledgement resources is to be used based on said initial acknowledgement resource information; and causing transmission of an acknowledgement on said determined resource.

The at least one memory and the computer code may be configured, with the at least one processor, to: initial acknowledgement resource information is received at the user equipment from the base station during one of an initial access phase and a handover procedure.

The at least one memory and the computer code may be configured to, with the at least one processor: dedicated acknowledgement resource information is then received and the transmission of acknowledgements by the user equipment in the resources associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information is caused.

The at least one memory and the computer code may be configured, with the at least one processor, to receive at least one of: system information, at least one random access message, at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and a handover command from the base station, the at least one of the system information, the at least one random access message, the at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and the handover command being used to provide at least one of information regarding the subset of acknowledgement resource information and the initial acknowledgement resource information.

The acknowledgement resource information may provide information on a physical uplink control channel to be used by the user equipment for acknowledgement information.

According to one aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving initial acknowledgement resource information from a base station, the initial acknowledgement resource information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources; means for determining which of said subset of acknowledgement resources is to be used in accordance with said initial acknowledgement resource information; and means for causing acknowledgement transmission on the determined resource.

The means for receiving may be for receiving initial acknowledgement resource information from the base station at the user equipment during one of an initial access phase and a handover procedure.

The means for receiving may be for subsequently receiving dedicated acknowledgement resource information and the means for transmitting may be for causing transmission of an acknowledgement in a resource associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information.

The receiving means may be for receiving at least one of: system information, at least one random access message, at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and a handover command from the base station; the at least one of the system information, the at least one random access message, the at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message and the handover command is used to provide at least one of information on the subset of acknowledgement resource information and the initial acknowledgement resource information.

An apparatus and/or communication system may also be provided that includes an apparatus configured to provide at least one embodiment. The device may comprise a communication device such as a user device.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method comprising: transmitting initial acknowledgement resource information from the base station to the user equipment, the initial acknowledgement resource information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources; an acknowledgement is received from the user equipment on one of the subset of acknowledgement resources at the base station.

The method may include causing initial acknowledgement resource information to be transmitted from the base station during one of an initial access phase and a handover procedure.

The method may include subsequently causing transmission of dedicated acknowledgement resource information and receiving an acknowledgement from the user equipment in a resource associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information.

The method may include causing transmission of at least one of: system information, at least one random access message, at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and a handover command from the base station, at least one of the system information, the at least one random access message, the at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and the handover command being used to provide at least one of information regarding the subset of acknowledgement resource information and the initial acknowledgement resource information.

The subset of acknowledgement resources may include at least one resource index in an orthogonal resource space.

The method may include transmitting initial acknowledgement resource information from the base station to the second user equipment, the initial acknowledgement resource information being associated with a second subset of acknowledgement resources, the second subset of acknowledgement resources being different from the subset of acknowledgement resources associated with the first device. This may be the case where the initial acknowledgement resource information is temporary acknowledgement resource information.

The method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may be provided in a base station.

According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for causing initial acknowledgement resource information to be transmitted to the user equipment, the initial acknowledgement resource information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources; and means for receiving an acknowledgement from the user equipment on one of the subset of acknowledgement resources.

The means for causing transmission may be for causing initial acknowledgement resource information to be transmitted during one of an initial access phase and a handover procedure.

The means for causing transmission may then cause transmission of dedicated acknowledgement resource information and the means for receiving may be for receiving an acknowledgement from the user equipment in a resource associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information.

The means for causing transmission may be for causing transmission of at least one of: system information, at least one random access message, at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and a handover command from the base station, the at least one of the system information, the at least one random access message, the at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and the handover command being used to provide at least one of information regarding the subset of the acknowledgement resource information and the initial acknowledgement resource information.

The acknowledgement resource information may include an acknowledgement resource indicator.

An apparatus and/or communication system may also be provided, including a device configured to provide at least one of the embodiments. The device may comprise a device such as a base station.

According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus in a base station, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor: causing initial acknowledgement resource information to be transmitted to the user equipment, the initial acknowledgement resource information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources; and receiving an acknowledgement from the user equipment on one of the subset of acknowledgement resources.

The at least one memory and the computer code may be configured to, with the at least one processor: the initial acknowledgement resource information is caused to be transmitted from the base station during one of an initial access phase and a handover procedure.

The at least one memory and the computer code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, subsequently cause transmission of dedicated acknowledgement resource information and to receive an acknowledgement from the user equipment in a resource associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information.

The at least one memory and the computer code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause transmission of at least one of: system information, at least one random access message, at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and a handover command from the base station, the at least one of the system information, the at least one random access message, the at least one radio resource control reconfiguration message, and the handover command being used to provide at least one of information regarding the subset of acknowledgement resource information and the initial acknowledgement resource information.

A computer program may also be provided, comprising program code means adapted to perform the methods described herein. According to further embodiments, an apparatus and/or a computer program product, which may be embodied on a computer readable medium, for providing at least one of the above methods is provided.

Various other aspects and further embodiments are described in the following detailed description of examples embodying the invention.

Drawings

Some embodiments will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the following examples and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic example of a system in which the present invention may be implemented;

Fig. 2 shows an example of a communication device;

FIG. 3 shows a signal flow using a common ARI;

fig. 4 shows a signal flow using temporary ARI; and

Fig. 5 shows a method for selecting whether to use a dedicated ARI or a common ARI.

Detailed Description

In the following, certain exemplary embodiments are explained with reference to a wireless communication system serving devices adapted for wireless communication. Thus, before explaining the exemplary embodiments in detail, certain general principles of the wireless system, its components, and devices for wireless communications are briefly explained with reference to the system 10 of fig. 1, the device 20 of fig. 2, and its control means to aid in understanding the described examples.

The communication device may be used to access various services and/or applications provided via the communication system. In a wireless communication system, access is provided via a wireless access interface between a wireless communication device and an appropriate access system. The device may access the communication system wirelessly via a base station. A base station site may provide one or more cells of a cellular system. In the example of fig. 1, the base station 12 may provide, for example, three cells on different carriers. In addition to the base station 12, at least one serving cell may be provided by means of another station or stations. For example, at least one of the carriers may be provided by a station that is not co-located with the base station 12. This possibility is represented by station 11 in fig. 1. Interactions between different sites and/or their controllers may be arranged in various ways. Each mobile device 20 and base station may simultaneously open one or more radio channels and may receive signals from more than one source.

The base station node may be connected to a data network 18 via a suitable gateway 15. The gateway function between the access system and another network, such as a packet data network, may be provided by means of any suitable gateway node, such as a packet data gateway and/or an access gateway. Thus, the communication system may be provided by one or more interconnection networks and elements thereof, and one or more gateway nodes may be provided for interconnecting the various networks.

The communication device may access the communication system based on various access technologies, such as those based on third generation partnership project (3 GPP) specifications. A non-limiting example of a mobile architecture is known as evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). A non-limiting example of a base station of a cellular system is known as NodeB or enhanced NodeB (eNB) in the vocabulary of the 3GPP specifications. The eNB may provide E-UTRAN features such as user plane radio link control/medium access control/physical layer protocol (RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol towards the mobile communication device termination.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a communication device 20 that a user may use for communication. Such communication devices are often referred to as User Equipment (UE) or terminals. A suitable communication device may be provided by any device capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include a Mobile Station (MS) such as a mobile phone or so-called "smart phone", a portable computer with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility, a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) provided with wireless communication capabilities, or any combination of these, etc. The mobile communication device may provide for communication of, for example, data for carrying communication such as voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia, positioning data, other data, and the like. Thus, users can be provided and offer a number of services via their communication devices. Non-limiting examples of such services include bi-or multi-directional calls, data communication or multimedia services or simply access to a data communication network system such as the internet.

The mobile device typically has at least one data processing entity 23, at least one memory 24 and possibly other components 29 for its software and hardware assisted execution of tasks designed for execution, including control of access to and communication with base stations and/or other user terminals. The data processing, storage and other associated control means may be provided in a suitable circuit board and/or chipset. The device is indicated by reference numeral 26.

The various functions and operations of the communication device are arranged in layers according to an architecture model. In the model, lower layers report to and receive instructions from higher layers.

The user may control the operation of the device 20 by means of a suitable user interface such as a keyboard, voice commands, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof, and the like. A display 25, a speaker and a microphone are also typically provided. Furthermore, the mobile communication device may comprise a suitable connector (wired or wireless) to other devices and/or for connecting external accessories, such as a hands-free device, thereto.

Device 20 may receive and transmit signal 28 via suitable means for receiving and transmitting signals. In fig. 2, the transceiver means is schematically indicated by block 27. The transceiver device may have cognitive radio capability. The transceiver may be provided, for example, by means of a radio part and associated antenna means. The antenna arrangement may be arranged inside or outside the mobile device. A wireless communication device may have a multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system.

3GPP has defined the concept of a User Equipment (UE) specific primary cell (PCell) and secondary cell (SCell). In applications such as carrier aggregation, at least but typically only one of the serving cells is denoted primary cell (PCell) while the other serving cells are secondary cells (scells). In the context of LAA, one or more LAA DL secondary cells (scells) may be configured to User Equipment (UE) as part of DL Carrier Aggregation (CA) configuration, while a primary cell (PCell) needs to be on licensed spectrum. It is expected that Rel-13 LTE LAA will also evolve to also support LAA Uplink (UL) transmissions over unlicensed spectrum in later releases, e.g. in LTE Rel-14.

The LTE LAA method in Rel-13 based on CA framework assumes transmission of Uplink Control Information (UCI) on PCell (licensed band). However, the LAA may be extended with uplink support including PUCCH (physical uplink control channel).

In the context of LAA UL, one or more LAA scells may be configured to a UE as part of UL carrier aggregation configuration. LAA scells in unlicensed bands use frame structure type 3, which is a frame structure introduced in Rel-13 specifically for LAA cells.

There may also be interest in extending LAA with Dual Connectivity (DC) operation, i.e. allowing non-ideal backhaul between PCell in licensed spectrum and SCell in unlicensed spectrum.

Independent LTE operation over unlicensed spectrum may be desirable in some applications. LTE independent operation on unlicensed spectrum would mean that the eNB/UE air interface relies only on unlicensed spectrum without any carrier on licensed spectrum.

Both dual connectivity and independent modes of operation require transmission of UCI/PUCCH over unlicensed spectrum.

Listen Before Talk (LBT) type protocols can be used for opportunistic allocation of resources. Listen-before-talk is a contention-based protocol that is used in wireless communications by allowing several devices to share the same spectrum or channel. If a device wants to transmit information, the device must first check that the channel has not been used.

In LTE operation on unlicensed carriers, the UE may need to perform LBT before any UL transmission, depending on regulatory rules. There may be some exceptions.

At least in some areas, transmission of ACK/NACK (acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement) feedback without LBT is possible immediately after DL transmission (similar to Wi-Fi operation).

The Short Control Signaling (SCS) rule defined by ETSI (european telecommunications standards institute) for europe allows transmission of control signaling with a duty cycle of not more than 5% within a 50ms period without performing LBT. Short control signaling is a transmission used by the adaptive device to send management and control frames (e.g., ACK/NACK signals) without sensing whether the channel is otherwise present. The adaptive device may not be required to implement short control signaling. If implemented, the short control signaling transmission of the adaptive device may have a maximum duty cycle of 5% within a 50ms observation period. At least in some areas, scheduled UL transmissions without LBT may typically be allowed when the transmission directly follows a DL transmission, the eNodeB has performed LBT before the DL transmission, and the total transmission time to cover DL and UL is limited by the maximum Tx burst time defined by the associated regulatory body.

LTE independent operation can be developed in a proprietary manner. MulteFire (MLF) developed by nokia is one such example. In MulteFire, supporting two types of PUCCH formats, short PUCCH and long PUCCH, has been proposed.

The short PUCCH is a PUCCH structure occupying several symbols (such as 4 symbols). The short PUCCH is time domain multiplexed with PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel). The short PUCCH may support two or more short PUCCH formats. For example, there may be a short PUCCH format designed for transmission of multiple HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) -ACK bits, and another short PUCCH format designed for transmission of PRACH (physical random access channel), SR (scheduling request), and SRs (sounding reference signal).

The long PUCCH refers to a PUCCH structure that occupies PUSCH B-IFDMA (interleaved frequency division multiple access) interleaving and predefined transmission timing (e.g. 1ms, i.e. 14 scdma (single carrier frequency division multiplexing) symbols). The long PUCCH is frequency division multiplexed with PUSCH.

In LTE it is desirable for the UE and the base station (eNB) to have the same "understanding" of the PUCCH resources allocated to the UE for transmission of HARQ-ACKs for PDSCH (physical downlink shared control channel). When performing random access, the UE first needs PUCCH resource allocation when transmitting HARQ-ACK for random access Msg4. The eNodeB transmits the contention resolution message Msg4 in the downlink PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel) based on PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) containing C-RNTI (cell-radio network temporary identifier) for further communication. In this signaling phase, the eNB has not yet configured dedicated HARQ-ACK resources for the UE via RRC (radio resource control) signaling.

In LTE, PUCCH resource allocation for HARQ-ACKs corresponding to DL (PDSCH) transport blocks is mainly implicit (this also covers HARQ-ACK signaling during and after initial access). Specifically, PUCCH resources to be used are determined based on an index of a lowest PDCCH Control Channel Element (CCE) of the scheduled PDSCH. On a 20MHz system, a maximum of about 80 CCEs/subframe, which means that up to 80 PUCCH resources need to be reserved for each DL subframe. Furthermore, in the case of TDD (time division duplex), HARQ-ACKs for multiple DL subframes may need to be carried in one UL subframe, which means that the number of different PUCCH resources may become very large.

UL transmissions in proprietary systems such as MulteFire are based on interlaces consisting of multiple (e.g., 6 or 10) equally spaced clusters of 1-PRBs (physical resource blocks) due to regulatory limitations. This in effect means that the number of PUCCH resources available in a subframe will be smaller than in LTE (this reduces the fact that multiplexing capacity since PUCCH transmissions are wideband). Meanwhile, due to the inherent TDD characteristics of MulteFire, HARQ-ACK feedback would need to be provided for many DL subframes in a single UL subframe. Both of these aspects make the application of implicit PUCCH resource allocation of LTE type with one-to-one mapping between PDCCH CCEs and PUCCH resources less ideal. Some embodiments provide alternative methods.

Whereas MulteFire is at least primarily directed to small cells, the number of simultaneous scheduled users may be low. Thus, in some embodiments, a more resource efficient scheme may be used. In some embodiments, at least a portion of an explicit resource allocation scheme may be used.

As described above, PUCCH resource allocation of HARQ-ACKs in LTE is mainly based on a one-to-one mapping between indexes of lowest scheduled PDCCH CCEs and indexes of PUCCH resources. This applies in the case of single component carrier operation and also to carrier aggregation when the scheduling PDCCH is transmitted in the common search space of the primary cell. The same applies to the initial access scenario when the RRC connection has not been established. However, in some carrier aggregation cases, explicit PUCCH resource allocation is used when PUCCH formats 3,4 or 5 are used. The basic scheme is as follows. When configuring PUCCH formats 3/4/5 for a UE, the eNodeB also configures four corresponding PUCCH resources (via dedicated RRC signaling). In the scheduling PDCCH DCI (downlink control indicator) format, there is a 2-bit ACK/NACK resource indicator (ARI). Each of the four code points of the ARI corresponds to one of the four PUCCH resources. That is, when the eNB transmits a PDCCH scheduling PDSCH transmission for the UE, the same PDCCH also informs the UE (through ARI) which of the four PUCCH resources it should use.

In the case of MulteFire, ARI-based PUCCH resource allocation is also an effective scheme in principle. However, the inventors have recognized that there is a problem how to operate during e.g. initial access or during a handover procedure to another cell when RRC configured resources are not yet available. In any case, the UE will need to know which PUCCH resources to use for HARQ-ACK feedback.

Some embodiments relate to the definition of PUCCH resources corresponding to an ARI in case dedicated RRC signaling (and corresponding dedicated ARI, d-ARI) is not yet available (mainly initial access).

In one embodiment, one aspect is the definition of a common ARI (c-ARI), and corresponding PUCCH resources. c-ARI is a common set of cells of four PUCCH resources to be used for HARQ-ACK transmission, for example. The PUCCH resource for c-ARI may be determined based on system information signaling such as eSIB (enhanced system information block) and a common PUCCH configuration, for example.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 shows a signaling flow in an embodiment.

In step S1, the UE receives system information including a common PUCCH configuration from the eNodeB via eSIB. The PUCCH configuration may include one or more of the following:

a PUCCH channelization structure defining one or more sets of parallel HARQ-ACK resources available for HARQ-ACKs;

an index of a first PUCCH interlace and/or resource to be used for HARQ-ACK;

The number of PUCCH interlaces allocated for HARQ-ACKs;

Supported PUCCH formats; and

HARQ-ACK bundling scheme (if any) to be applied.

Each set of HARQ-ACK resources may correspond to a predetermined PUCCH format. For example, one set of resources may be defined for large HARQ-ACK payloads and another set may be defined for small/compact HARQ-ACK payloads, respectively.

Each HARQ-ACK resource may be associated with a predetermined resource index.

In step S2, the UE determines a cell common PUCCH resource used in association with a common ARI (C-ARI). This may be determined based on a common PUCCH configuration.

In one embodiment with a 2-bit c-ARI, four cell common PUCCH resources may be associated with the c-ARI.

In one embodiment, PUCCH resources associated with c-ARI may be explicitly indicated in eSIB.

Alternatively, PUCCH resources associated with the c-ARI may be derived based on a predetermined rule (which may or may not include information included in the eSIB). For example, the PUCCH resource associated with the ARI may be, for example, the PUCCH resource having the lowest PUCCH resource index.

In another embodiment, the resource indication may include, for example, an index for B-IFDMA (block interleaved frequency division multiple access) interleaving, cyclic shift, and use of orthogonal cover codes, if applicable.

In some embodiments, PUCCH resources are indicated by at least one resource index in the orthogonal resource space. This may be, for example, one or more of frequency, time, code, and space.

In step S3, the UE selects one of the available RACH preambles transmitted from the UE to the eNodeB.

In step S4, upon receiving the UE transmission, the eNodeB will transmit a RAR (random access response). The RAR may include uplink grant resources and a timing advance value (if timing advance is applied). The RAR step includes providing a PDCCH with DCI (downlink control information) including information on resource allocation for the RAR and the PDSCH carrying the RAR in the PDSCH.

In step S5, the UE will transmit Msg3 using the uplink allocation given in RAR. Msg3 is a radio resource connection RRC message, such as an RRC connection request.

In step S6, the eNodeB transmits a contention resolution message Msg4 including the common ARI value.

In step S7, the UE transmits HARQ-ACK transmission on the common PUCCH resource associated with the common ARI value received in step S6.

In an alternative initial access procedure, two or more signals may be transmitted as a combined signal. For example, the UE may transmit the random access preamble and the radio resource connection message in a combined signal in one step. Alternatively or additionally, the eNB may transmit the random access response and the contention resolution message in another combined signal in one step.

Later, the eNodeB may configure the UE with a dedicated PUCCH resource subset associated with the ARI (e.g., as in Rel-13) via dedicated RRC signaling, e.g., as part of a UE-specific radio resource configuration, a UE-specific physical channel configuration, and/or a UE-specific PUCCH configuration. This may include four PUCCH resources of the same or different formats.

The common ARI is common in the cell, i.e. all UEs have the same configuration of the PUCCH resource subset associated with the ARI. This is useful from a signaling point of view, as broadcast signaling (system information) can be used. Since all UEs in a cell share the same (e.g., four, assuming a 2-bit ARI) PUCCH resource to which the ARI may point, there may be a collision.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 illustrates a method used by a UE to determine whether a common or dedicated PUCCH resource subset will be used in determining PUCCH resources indicated by an ARI.

In step A1, the UE receives PDCCH DL assignments (including ARI) scheduling PDSCH data.

In step A2, the UE will need to determine whether HARQ-ACK resource allocation based on the common PUCCH resource subset is to be used. For example, the criterion for using the common PUCCH resource subset for HARQ-ACK resource allocation may be, for example, if the UE has not received the dedicated PUCCH resource subset configuration. Thus, in step A2, the UE determines whether it has received a dedicated PUCCH resource subset configuration.

If not, in step A4, the UE will use the common PUCCH resource subset for HARQ-ACK resource allocation based on the ARI. If so, in step A3, the UE will use a dedicated PUCCH resource subset associated with the ARI.

The eNB may be completely free to include any PUCCH resources into the common and/or dedicated PUCCH resource subsets associated with the ARI. This will allow for example to choose to use at least one identical PUCCH resource with both common and dedicated ARI and help to avoid ambiguity in resource allocation during RRC configuration of dedicated ARI is ongoing.

In another embodiment, assume, for example, that n-bit ARI, at least some of the n 2 PUCCH resources are always determined based on a common PUCCH resource subset, while some other resources are configured as dedicated resources. This allows for robust operation in case e.g. the eNodeB has not yet determined whether the RRC configuration of the dedicated PUCCH resource subset associated with the ARI has passed.

In some embodiments, the eNB may not configure the dedicated PUCCH resource subset at all. In those scenarios, the eNB may facilitate HARQ-ACKs based on only a common PUCCH resource subset, at least for some UEs. This may be determined based on, for example, the number of UEs in the cell and/or the UE service type.

Referring now to fig. 4, another embodiment, and a specific associated signal flow, is shown in fig. 4. In this embodiment, the temporary PUCCH resource subset is used in association with an ARI.

In step T1, the eNB will transmit system information to the UE.

In step T2, the UE will transmit a random access preamble to the eNB.

In step T3, the eNB will transmit a random access response including information on temporary PUCCH resources associated with the ARI.

In step T4, the UE determines temporary PUCCH resources associated with the ARI based on information contained in the random access response and optionally based on system information.

In step T5, the UE will transmit Msg3 using the uplink allocation given in RAR.

In step T6, the eNodeB transmits a contention resolution message Msg4 including the value of the temporary ARI.

In step T7, the UE transmits HARQ-ACK transmission on the temporary PUCCH resource associated with the signaled temporary ARI value.

The assignment may be done as part of the random access procedure. In the case of a 2-bit ARI, four temporary PUCCH resources may be associated with the ARI. The temporary PUCCH resources associated with the ARI may be explicitly indicated during the random access procedure as part of the random access procedure, e.g. in Msg2 or Msg 4.

Thus, dedicated signaling may be used to signal temporary PUCCH resources associated with the ARI to the UE, e.g., during a random access procedure. This allows different UEs to be assigned, for example, different sets of four (or other suitable number) PUCCH resources, avoiding PUCCH resource collisions. Thus, different UEs may be assigned different sets of PUCCHs through temporary ARI configurations. The temporary ARI does not have the same degree of freedom in signaling PUCCH resources as the ARI of the "normal" RRC configuration associated with the PUCCH resource set. Thus, it is temporary and may be used only before the PUCCH resource set associated with the ARI can be configured with RRC.

Alternatively, the temporary PUCCH resources associated with the ARI may be derived based on a predetermined rule using information included in one or more of the random access messages Msg2, msg4, and eSIB.

In some embodiments, the UE may derive two or more sets of temporary PUCCH resources according to a predetermined rule (which may or may not include information included in eSIB) and use the information included in random access Msg2 to select one temporary PUCCH resource set to be used in association with the ARI.

Later, the eNodeB may configure the UE with a set of dedicated PUCCH resources associated with the ARI (as in Rel-13) via dedicated RRC signaling. This may include, for example, four PUCCH resources of the same or different PUCCH formats. This may be as previously described.

The number of resources associated with the temporary or common ARI may be any suitable number of resources and may vary from the given example number. Typically, some but not all subsets of the resources will be associated with temporary or common ARI.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, aspects of the method discussed with respect to fig. 3 may be used in combination with aspects of the method discussed with respect to fig. 4. For example, a common ARI may be used instead of a temporary ARI.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, aspects of the method discussed with respect to fig. 4 may be used in combination with aspects of the method discussed with respect to fig. 3. For example, instead of a public ARI, a temporary ARI may be used.

In alternative embodiments, one or more modifications to the examples discussed may be provided. For example, one or more different messages may be provided to provide information about PUCCH resources associated with a common or temporary ARI. One or more different messages may be used to signal the value of the common or temporary ARI.

The examples of fig. 3 and 4 have been described in the context of establishing a connection. In alternative or additional embodiments, it may be used in the context of a handover procedure. For example, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message may be used to provide information about PUCCH resources associated with temporary or common ARI.

Some embodiments may use compact HARQ-ACK resources.

Currently, when the PUCCH TPC (transmit power control) field is not used for the original purpose, the ARI is carried on the PUCCH TPC field. However, in some cases, the eNB needs to signal PUCCH TPC, in which case ARI is not available. In one embodiment, a separate field of the ARI may be provided. In an alternative embodiment, where the ARI is available on the PDCCH grant, the UE may use a non-compact HARQ-ACK form, and under predetermined conditions, the UE will select a compact HARQ form and apply implicit resource allocation to determine the resources.

Compact HARQ-ACK resources such as short PUCCH may be defined as a complementary solution for transmitting HARQ-ACKs (compared to HARQ-ACKs supporting large payloads). Compact HARQ-ACK resources may be defined for the case of one or two bit HARQ-ACKs. For example, when the UE receives one (and only one) PDCCH DL assignment during a predetermined time window, the UE may apply compact HARQ-ACK resources instead of resources supporting a large payload.

Alternatively, compact HARQ-ACK resources may be applied when PDCCH is transmitted in the common search space

Alternatively, when the PDCCH is transmitted on the primary cell, compact HARQ-ACK resources may be applied.

Alternatively or additionally, compact HARQ-ACK resources may be applied in combination with time domain bundling.

Compact HARQ-ACK resources may apply separate sets of HARQ-ACK resources (covering c-ARI and d-ARI) compared to resources supporting large HARQ-ACK payloads. In some cases, the ARI bits may not be available (e.g., in the case of transmitting PDCCH on PCell common search space). For those cases, a complementary manner for determining the PUCCH resource index may be defined. It may be a function of various parameters such as C-RNTI, lowest PRB of PDSCH, index of CCE or eCCE.

The handling of the error situation will now be described. The configuration of dedicated HARQ-ACK resources involves RRC signaling that may involve timing uncertainty. In other words, the eNB may not fully know when the UE adopts dedicated resource configuration (because the UE processing delay may not have been accurately specified). In those cases, the eNB may monitor multiple PUCCH resources (such as resources corresponding to a common PUCCH resource subset and a dedicated PUCCH resource subset) simultaneously. If the HARQ-ACK is received via resources belonging to the common PUCCH resource subset, the UE has not yet adopted RRC configuration. If the HARQ-ACK is received via resources belonging to the dedicated PUCCH resource subset, the eNB may determine that the UE has adopted RRC configuration.

Some embodiments facilitate explicit PUCCH resource allocation for HARQ-ACKs without requiring the UE to first receive a dedicated RRC configuration. This may be used, for example, in the case of an initial access. PUCCH overhead may be significantly reduced compared to implicit resource allocation.

For example, assume that a one-to-one mapping between PDCCH CCEs and PUCCH resources would mean that up to-80 PUCCH resources corresponding to each DL subframe need to be reserved.

Some embodiments may be used in scenarios such as MulteFire scenarios with limited multiplexing capacity (in terms of the number of simultaneous PUCCH channels) and requiring a relatively large HARQ-ACK payload size.

In some embodiments, the temporary/normal/common ARI is differentiated based on (at that time) the PUCCH resource set associated with the ARI.

Note that the problems discussed above are not limited to any particular communication environment, but may occur in any suitable communication system.

The required data processing means and functions may be provided by means of one or more data processors. The described functions may be provided by separate processors or by an integrated processor. The data processor may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), gate level circuits, and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The data processing may be distributed over several data processing modules. The data processor may be provided by means of, for example, at least one chip. Suitable storage capacity may be provided in the relevant device. The one or more memories may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. One or more of the steps discussed with respect to fig. 3-5 may be performed by one or more processors in conjunction with one or more memories.

When loaded on a suitable data processing apparatus or otherwise provided, a suitably adapted computer program code product may be used to implement the embodiments. The program code product for providing the operation may be stored, provided and implemented by means of a suitable carrier medium. Suitable computer programs may be embodied on a computer readable recording medium. It is possible to download the program code product via a data network. In general, the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention may be implemented in various components, such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is basically a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

Note that while embodiments have been described with respect to certain architectures, similar principles may be applied to other systems. Thus, while certain embodiments have been described above by way of example with reference to certain exemplary architectures for wireless networks, technologies, and standards, embodiments may be applied to any other suitable forms of communication systems other than those shown and described herein. It should also be noted that different combinations of the different embodiments are possible. It should also be noted herein that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments of the invention, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising:

Receiving, at a user equipment, common physical uplink control channel configuration information from a base station, the common physical uplink control channel configuration information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources in a cell;

determining which of the acknowledgement resources is to be used in association with an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement resource indicator according to the common physical uplink control channel configuration information; and

Causing the user equipment to transmit a first acknowledgement on acknowledgement resources associated with the received acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement resource indicator value;

Wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user equipment when a radio resource control connection has not been established;

then receiving special acknowledgement resource information; and

Causing the user equipment to transmit a second acknowledgement in a resource associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information;

wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information includes at least one supported physical uplink control channel format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user equipment via system information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user equipment via system information during initial access of the user equipment to the cell.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user during a handover procedure of the user equipment to the cell.

5. A method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the first acknowledgement is transmitted in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises receiving a physical downlink control channel assignment for downlink transmission comprising the acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement resource indicator value.

7. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the acknowledgement resource information of the common physical uplink control channel configuration information comprises one or more of:

Defining a physical uplink control channel channelization structure for one or more sets of parallel HARQ-ACK resources;

an index of a first resource to be used for HARQ-ACK;

A first physical uplink control channel interlace to be used for HARQ-ACK;

The number of physical uplink control channel interlaces to be used for HARQ-ACKs;

HARQ-ACK bundling scheme to be applied.

8. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the acknowledgement comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement on a physical uplink control channel.

9. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the subset of acknowledgement resources comprises at least one resource index in an orthogonal resource space.

10. A method for communication, comprising:

causing common physical uplink control channel configuration information to be transmitted from the base station to the user equipment, the common physical uplink control channel configuration information being associated with a subset of acknowledgement resources in the cell; and

Receiving, at the base station, a first acknowledgement from the user equipment on acknowledgement resources associated with an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement resource indicator value in the subset of acknowledgement resources;

Wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is transmitted to the user equipment when a radio resource control connection has not been established;

then transmitting special acknowledgement resource information to the user equipment; and

Receiving a second acknowledgement from the user equipment in a resource associated with the dedicated acknowledgement resource information;

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration is transmitted to the user equipment via system information.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is transmitted to the user equipment via system information during initial access of the user equipment to the cell.

13. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user equipment during a handover procedure of the user equipment to the cell.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first acknowledgement is received in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure.

15. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the method further comprises transmitting a physical downlink control channel assignment for downlink transmission comprising the acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement resource indicator value.

16. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the acknowledgement resource information of the common physical uplink control channel configuration information comprises one or more of:

an index of a first resource to be used for HARQ-ACK;

A first physical uplink control channel interlace to be used for HARQ-ACK;

HARQ-ACK bundling scheme to be applied.

17. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the acknowledgement comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement on a physical uplink control channel.

18. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the subset of acknowledgement resources comprises at least one resource index in an orthogonal resource space.

19. An apparatus for a user device, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor:

then receiving special acknowledgement resource information; and

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user equipment via system information.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user equipment via system information during initial access of the user equipment to the cell.

22. The apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user during a handover procedure of the user equipment to the cell.

23. The apparatus of claim 19 or 21, wherein the first acknowledgement is transmitted in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure.

24. The apparatus of claim 19 or 20, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor: a physical downlink control channel assignment for a downlink transmission is received that includes the acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement resource indicator value.

25. The apparatus of claim 19 or 20, wherein the acknowledgement resource information of the common physical uplink control channel configuration information comprises one or more of:

an index of a first resource to be used for HARQ-ACK;

A first physical uplink control channel interlace to be used for HARQ-ACK;

HARQ-ACK bundling scheme to be applied.

26. The apparatus of claim 19 or 20, wherein the acknowledgement comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement on a physical uplink control channel.

27. The apparatus of claim 19 or 20, wherein the subset of acknowledgement resources comprises at least one resource index in an orthogonal resource space.

28. An apparatus for a base station, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor:

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration is transmitted to the user equipment via system information.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is transmitted to the user equipment via system information during initial access of the user equipment to the cell.

31. The apparatus according to claim 28 or 29, wherein the common physical uplink control channel configuration information is received at the user equipment during a handover procedure of the user equipment to the cell.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the first acknowledgement is received in response to a contention resolution message of a random access procedure.

33. The apparatus of claim 28 or 29, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor: a physical downlink control channel assignment including the acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement resource indicator value is transmitted for downlink transmission.

34. The apparatus of claim 28 or 29, wherein acknowledgement resource information of the common physical uplink control channel configuration information comprises one or more of:

an index of a first resource to be used for HARQ-ACK;

A first physical uplink control channel interlace to be used for HARQ-ACK;

HARQ-ACK bundling scheme to be applied.

35. The apparatus of claim 28 or 29, wherein the acknowledgement comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement on a physical uplink control channel.

36. The apparatus of claim 28 or 29, wherein the subset of acknowledgement resources comprises at least one resource index in an orthogonal resource space.

37. A computer program product comprising program code means adapted to perform the steps of claim 1 or 18 when the computer program is run on a data processing apparatus.